Short URLs for SharePoint using HTTP Redirect in IIS 7

A quick and easy way to create a short URL for a SharePoint location is to use the HTTP Redirect module in IIS 7.

1) Open IIS Manager.

2) Expand the Site where you want to add the short URL. You will see the virtual directories.

3) Right-click on the Site and select to Add Virtual Directory. Type in an Alias to be used as the URL suffix. For example, if your root Site URL is http://teamsites and you use an Alias of "forms", the short URL will be http://teamsites/forms. For the physical path, I recommend browsing to the C:\inetpub\wwwroot\wss\VirtualDirectories directory and creating a new folder there with the same name as the Alias. DO NOT create the new folder under the same directory as the root Site (e.g. C:\inetpub\wwwroot\wss\VirtualDirectories\teamsites). This will cause the root site to be redirected as well. Select OK to create the new virtual directory.

4) Select the new virtual directory under the Site. In the Features View, double-click the HTTP Redirect icon.

5) Check to Redirect requests to this destination, and enter the long URL. For the Redirect Behavior section, only select to Redirect all requests to exact destination (instead of relative to destination). Leave the Status code as is and click Apply in the Actions pane on the right.

Perform all steps on every WFE in your farm.

When done, upon browsing to the short URL you will be automatically redirected to the long URL.

Project Server 2010: Prompted for SQL Server Login upon editing Business Intelligence Center reports in Excel client application

While working on a PWA site, you attempt to edit reports in the Business Intelligence Center using the Excel client application and receive a SQL Server Login dialog box, as shown below.

To resolve this issue, ensure the Active Directory user or group has the db_datareader role on the PWA reporting database. When editing reports, the Excel client application connects directly to the PWA reporting database using the credentials of whoever launches it, so they must have the correct permissions in SQL.

Also, keep in mind that the Excel Web App uses the Secure Store Service for opening and refreshing reports in the Business Intelligence Center, not the logged on user credentials as in the Excel client application. To see who can open and refresh reports in the Excel Web App, go to Central Administration -> Manage service applications -> Secure Store Service. Click on the Target Application ID, click Next twice, and see the Members. Add the Active Directory users or group as needed.